How to Encourage Your Child to Be Physically Active

We all understand the importance of physical fitness and how being active can improve our health. The problem is, how do you get your child to exercise when they’re showing no interest? I have teamed up with a co-educational school in London to share some advice.

Go on Family Walks

Your child is far less likely to engage in physical activity if they’re having to do it alone, so make it a family thing. Go for a drive to your local National Park or a nearby forest and take a stroll together. The fresh air and walking will be great for all of you, improving your physical and mental wellbeing. If this doesn’t sound appealing, maybe you could use walking, biking, or even roller skating as a mode of transport rather than driving everywhere. 

Encourage Physical Extra-Curricular Activities

Consider encouraging your child to join a football or netball club or have some tennis lessons. Even a drama club is a great way to get your kids of the sofa and engaging their mind and bodies in a productive way. As well as the physical benefits, extra-curricular activities will allow your child to develop a range of key transferrable skills and make lifelong friends with likeminded individuals. 

Factor Exercise Into Your Family Holidays

Next time you’re booking a family holiday, why not consider ways to incorporate exercise into the trip? You could go skiing, hiking, kayaking, or snorkelling, to name but a few ideas. The idea is to make exercise an enjoyable, memorable experience. 

Organise a Scavenger Hunt

One way to make exercise fun and sociable is to organise a scavenger hunt for your child and their friends where the winner receives a prize. The competition element will be a great motivator, as will the fact that they’re able to socialise at the same time. 

If you are genuinely concerned that your child isn’t getting enough physical activity, be sure to have a chat with their teachers and find out what the school are doing to encourage physical fitness.